Turning Tides
by Temperance Isaack
Summary: Ten years ago, the world was at war. Now, we're rebuilding. They say that we're restoring the world to its normal order. But for most of us, war was normal order. Xira and Vatuuk are among the world's greatest benders, which is probably why they've become Probending's biggest stars. (adult situations, SAMESEX PAIRINGS, please read and review!)
1. Chapter 1

Ten years ago, the world was at war. A person couldn't go anywhere because of the constant threat of the Fire Nation. Families were torn apart and smashed, my own included. But, then, when it seemed we had lost, the Avatar and his friends saved the world from it's immanent demise.

Now, we're rebuilding. The Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Kingdom are now the United Republic of Nations. I live in the capital, Republic City, with my mother, father, and two brothers. They say that we're restoring the world to it's normal order.

But for most of us, war was normal order.

* * *

TURNING TIDES

Book one: Reincarnation

Chapter one: The City

Based on characters by Temperance Isaack and Ang3lbabe1527

written by Temperance Isaack

* * *

((Disclaimer: everything you don't recognize belongs to us. The other stuff is credited to Dimartino.))

* * *

She shivers...tired, cold, alone...the scars on her face and body paint a story of terror in the minds of passersby. They try not to stare, but some things can't be helped. They're just humans, right?

When she moves, her muscles glisten, they glow, she lights up, becoming more than a person. She is a god. Her body flexes and contracts with every blow she throws. Her aim is dead on. She is an earthbender, a powerful machine of precision and accuracy. She is one with the earth, aware of everything beneath her feet. Agile and quick on the ground, she pauses momentarily before sending out a wave of attack that catches her opponent off guard and over the edge of the platform. He hits the water beneath with a sickening SPLASH that sends chills down her spine. She smiles darkly, pleased with her skill.

She dodges multiple attacks. Its only the two of them, earth versus water...his waterwhip flies around her, and catches her off guard. He throws it upward into her face, knocking her backward and breaking her helmet strap so that it falls behind her. She staggers forward before catching her balance. She tastes blood, and feels something rattling around in her mouth. She spits, and a peice of her front tooth bounces off of the mat in a puddle of blood. She growls...

Her opponent soars over the side and into the water. The croud is histerical. She bows, and walks calmly back to her team station. Her team mates, a boy waterbender and girl firebender, both congratulate her on the win, but the blood rushing in her ears prevents her from hearing. She spits out more blood and wipes her face on her sleeve. The side of her face that isn't scarred is green, as though she immediatly regrets her behavior. The others back off immediately.

"Good job, Xira," says a tall woman by the door. Xira glances up through sweaty hair at the figure. She bows deeply, shaking from the withdrawal of adrenaline. The woman bows back.

"Thanks, Toph," answers Xira. Her voice seems distant, far away somehow, Toph notes, and she takes the smaller earthbender under her arm into a tight hug. Xira melts into the hug, her arms finding their way around Toph's waist, her head resting over Toph's heart. The rhythmic beating sooths her...one-two...one-two...one-two...Xira sighs.

The waterbender's team mates fish him out of the water. "Vatuuk? You okay, dude?" "Give him space, Gemma, he's just had the crap knocked out of him!"

Vatuuk sputters, choking on the water caught in his throat. He leans over and vomits, causing mild alarm in his teammates. He wipes his mouth on his sleeve and stands. "I'm okay," he says, his voice gruff and thick. He wobbles on his feet a little as he walks back to the team station, dizzied by the crushing blows. _Xira may be little, _he thinks to himself,_ but she's damned powerful._ He spits again, and takes a cup of water from a nearby table. He pours the water down his throat, gasping with exhaustion. "WAY TO GO, VATUUK!" "YOU'LL GET HER NEXT TIME!" "XIRA RULES! GO PANDADOGS!" come the calls from the audience. He chuckles at the last one. _Yep...Xira rules..._he thinks.

He looks at his face in the mirror. His eyes are bruised, his face is cut, and his shoulder looks broken. He takes a bit of water on his hand and attempts to heal himself, but he was never any good at healing. He cringes in pain, hot tears escaping from beneath his sealed eyelids.

"Sorry 'bout that..." says a small voice from behind. He turns, shocked, to see Xira standing in the doorway, her face just as bloody and battered as his own. A thin trail of blood trickles down from her lips, gathering at her chin in a sticky pool.

He chuckles, "No prob, Bob. You okay?"

She smiles, showing off her chipped tooth. "What do you think? Yakone says it gives me a "rakish" look." she smirks. "Are you alright?"

He winces slightly, but nods. "Yup...though I think you broke my shoulder..."

She looks at his arm, which is swelling dispite his healing attempts and becoming a nasty bluish black in color. "Come on, let's go see Katara, she'll fix you up." She gently takes his hand in her own, and leads him down the hall. "I d-don't know...what I'm doing...when-when I'm out there...I just...lose myself."

"I know," he says, smiling sadly. In the few years that this sport had been around, Xira had made her name as a fierce and competitive fighter on the court. Off the court, she was as meek and humble as any, but her tiny figure metamorphosized into a dark, heroic force once she was in uniform. He admired her. She was his best friend.

The two figures head down the hallway, her face a mask of worry, his attempting to mask the pain. They reach a well lit room, where the Avatar and his wife sit watching the game.

"Hello, Xira, Vatuuk," says the man, standing to reveal his six foot form. "Excellent game, both of you."

The two teens bow deeply, thanking Aang for the praise as well as his prescense.

"Katara," says Xira, green eyes begging, "I hurt him, I think his shoulder's broken. Can you...heal him?"

Katara nods, smiling, and takes the boy's shoulder in both hands. The water glows, and he moans with pleasure. "Thanks...Katara..." He says, smiling slightly.

"No problem, Vatuuk," she nods, her eyes full of concern. The swelling has reduced considerably, and the bluish ting has become more of a pail pink bruise. She lowers her hands, her job being done. The boy bows.

"Thank you, Katara," says Xira, her eyes glazing over with tears. Katara chuckles, and wraps the smaller woman in a hug. Bending lower, she takes a rag and wipes the blood away from Xira's mouth.

"Did he knock out a tooth?" asks Katara with a smirk. Xira smiles, revealing, again, the chipped front tooth. Katara chuckles. "That's beautiful."

Xira nods. "According to Yakone, it gives me a 'rakish look'. Just call me "Pirate Xira"..."

Aang laughs at this. "I want to see, I want to see!" he rushes over to peer at her mouth, and laughs. "You DO look like a pirate!"

His wife rolls her eyes. "I suspect Ichi hit him for that, right?"

Xira nods. "You know it..."

Katara chuckles, but her eyes don't lose their motherly concern as she glances back and forth between the two teens, despite her being only four years their senior. Aang continues making silly pirate noises and dances like a bit of a baffoon. Xira rolls her eyes. _This guy saved the world?_ She raises her eyebrows at Vatuuk, who shakes his head. "I gotta get to work," he says, removing his bending uniform and pulling on his waiter's outfit. He winces slightly when putting on the shirt, but ignores his pain. He runs a hand through his hair, a side pony tail mohawk sort of thing that hung by his face.

"I'll walk you," offers Xira, but Vatuuk shakes his head.

"Nah," he says, punching her playfully in the shoulder, "See you later."

She nods, still a bit worried. Toph appears in the door, listening to all of them, and smiling. She moves slightly, allowing Vatuuk to pass by, and he grunts his appreciation. The three people in the room are eerily quite, and Toph notes this. Deciding to break the silence, she slides in, and takes Xira under her arm. "So, you guys think my girl did good?"

"She was AWESOME!" says Aang, enthusiasm bursting from his eyes and smile, even his nose..."She was like, 'PHEW PHEW!' and they were all 'PAKANG! PAKANG! WHOOOSH! SPLOOSH!' and Xira's like 'BOOM! BOOOOM!' and they were all 'WOOOOO! AAAAH! SPLASH!' and Xira's like, 'Nothing happened, I'm just awesome!'" he ends his story to three pairs of raised female eyebrows, two amused smiles, and one deep scarlet blush.

Katara stands, and carefully takes his hands in her own. "Calm down, sweety, we were there..." Xira nods, uncomfortably.

"Yea, Aang, we don't need a play-by-play," Toph chortles. "I bet Xira's tired, huh?" she squeezes Xira slightly. The smaller woman's blush has subsided, replaced by a sick green color.

"Uh, yea-uh, yes," she stutters, not taking her eyes off of Aang. "I-uh...I'm going to head home..." she bows, and is given hugs, before leaving, still in her uniform.

"Uh, how much is this papaya?" a tall, slim watertribe girl holds the fruit, hungrily. The fruit monger considers her question.

"Four copper peices," he says, his voice slightly muffled.

The water tribe girl groans, digging through her coat pockets for two more copper peices, but...

"Hey, do you need help?" asks a short girl, her choppy black hair sweaty and sticking to her face. The water tribe girl shakes her head, replacing the papaya on to the fruit monger's stand.

"No," she says, almost sadly. The fruit monger, catching sight of Xira, shrugs slightly.

"No money, no fruit. You know the rules, Xira," he says.

Xira rolls her eyes. "This is what she wanted?" she picks up the papaya, and weighs it in her hands.

The fruit monger nods, "Four copper peices."

Xira digs the money out of her pocket and places it in the man's outstretched hand. He nods, their transaction being done, and places the coins in his pocket. "Pleasure doing business with you. What's for dinner tonight?"

Xira chuckles. "Cabbage soup. See you there, Pop." she turns back to the water tribe girl, and tosses the papaya to her. "Here. You new around here?"

The other girl nods, taking the fruit, gratefully, and stuffing it into her pack. "Thank you. Is that your father?"

"Yea, sorry about that. He's a bit of a weirdo when it comes to his fruit...do you have a place to stay? Or a name?"

Chuckling, the water tribe girl nods. "The name is Brinna. As for a place to stay, no. Why, is there an inn nearby?"

"Brinna..." she rolls the name over her tongue slowly, enjoying its sound and quality. "Water tribe names are the best...I'm Xira. And, no, there's something a bit better than an inn. You'll stay with me!"

Brinna is shocked for a moment, but quickly recovers. "Oh, um...I couldn't do that."

"Don't worry about it. I feel like I owe you."

"You don't owe me, I owe you. For the fruit."

"No, I owe you for my father's rudeness."

"Oh, um..." Brinna blinks, "thanks, then."


	2. Chapter 2

Ten years ago, the world was at war. A person couldn't go anywhere because of the constant threat of the Fire Nation. Families were torn apart and smashed, my own included. But, then, when it seemed we had lost, the Avatar and his friends saved the world from its imminent demise.

Now, we're rebuilding. The Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Kingdom are now the United Republic of Nations. I live in the capital, Republic City, with my mother, father, and two brothers. They say that we're restoring the world to its normal order.

But for most of us, war was normal order.

* * *

TURNING TIDES

Book one: Reincarnation

Chapter one: Welcome Home

Based on characters by Temperance Isaack and Ang3lbabe1527

written by Temperance Isaack

* * *

((Disclaimer: everything you don't recognize belongs to us. The other stuff is credited to Dimartino.))

* * *

"So," asks Xira, chopping onions for her broth and glancing up at Brinna, "you're a waterbender, yea?"

The other girl nods, popping a grape into her mouth and chewing it with savor. "Not a very good one, but yes, a waterbender."

"Could you show me something?" Xira turns, and wipes her hands on her apron. She's changed her clothes, and sports a rather tattered blue skirt with a sleeveless shirt borrowed from one of her brothers and never returned.

Brinna nods, and then with great concentration, she bends and manipulates the contents of a glass of water into dancing. Xira chuckles, taking one of the grapes from the table into her own mouth and biting into it so that the juicy little fruit bursts between her teeth with a pop. "Have you had lessons, or…?"

Brinna nods, "I had basic training. I didn't stay in the North Pole long enough to get past the basics." The water falls back into the cup, seeming to pile onto itself with a small splash. Brinna chuckles, taking another grape. "These are good. Your dad got them?"

"Yea, he and my younger brother, Min. My uncle owns a farm, and Dad and Min can pick all they want, as long as ten percent of the profit goes to Uncle Paq."

"Well, tell them all I said, 'thank you'," she says, an impish smile stretching across her face.

The front door opens and closes, and a tall man and woman enter the kitchen soon after. They both pour themselves large glasses of water before turning to address the simmering pot on the stove.

"Cabbage soup," Xira informs the man, as he takes a great whiff.

"Sausage?" He asks. His voice is gruff, almost frightening, Brinna notes.

The woman seems to notice the stranger and sits across from her at the table. "Hi," she says, her voice of tinkling bells, "are you a friend of Xira's?"

Brinna nods hesitantly. "Yes, I suppose so. I just met her today, though, but she has been very kind to me."

"Suppose she invited you to dinner, too?" asks the man, still examining the broth.

"Um…yes, she did."

"I invited her to stay. For now. She doesn't have any money for the Inn, so she can sleep in my room. My bed's big enough." Xira says this very matter-of-factly, as though closing the subject to conversation.

The man nods, and turns his attention to the two women seated at the table. "I'm Ul, her older brother. This is Colee, my wife." The woman extends a friendly hand for Brinna to shake.

"Brinna, Northern Water Tribe. Pleased to meet you." Brinna takes Colee's hand and is given a warm shake and smile.

_Welcome home, Brinna_, thinks Xira, turning back to stir the soup and humming to herself.

Toph sits between Katara and Sokka at the short rectangular dinner table. She's dropped her chopsticks and is picking pieces of meat out of her rice and eats them.

"Really, Toph?" says Katara. "PLEASE use your chopsticks?"

"But I can't feel the meat that way. I don't want the rice, just the meat."

Katara sighs, figuring herself defeated and allowing the blind earthbender to continue picking the meat from her rice. Toph smirks, knowing she's won.

"Do you have any siblings?"

The two girls are laying on top of Xira's bed, side by side, head to foot, staring at the ceiling on which Xira has painted constellations and the moon.

Brinna nods, "Yes, I have two sisters and three brothers." She smiles, memories flooding her mind. "I haven't seen them in two years…The oldest of us is Rohak, then Denahi, Seela, Kenai, me, and the baby, Hana. She's fifteen now…" her voice trails off sadly as she thinks of her brothers and sisters.

Xira lays next to her quietly, thinking about her own family. The rambunctious group had been surprisingly hospitable toward her new friend. Particularly her younger brother, Min. The fifteen year old boy, skinny and pimple faced, but not at all bad looking, had gaped at Brinna all through dinner. That is, until his older sister kicked him from under the table.

"You know," says Xira, "my oldest brother, Xian, and I used to play this game where he would count to one hundred and I would climb as high as I could up the tallest tree in our yard…I got pretty good at it, too."

Brinna chuckles. "I guess you would…where is he, now? Xian?"

"He, um… died. Eleven years ago. Some firebenders attacked our village."

"Oh, I'm so sorry…I lost my father in the war. A lot of good men died in that war."

"And women…" adds Xira.

Brinna glances up at her friend, who is still staring up at the ceiling. "And women," Brinna repeats, laying back down. She wipes her palms on her borrowed pajamas, the soft fabric bunching over her legs. Xira's clothes were too short in some places, too tight in others, but since they were just sleeping…what was the harm?

Silence. _I hate silence…_thinks Toph, pounding her head into her pillow, trying to find a more comfortable position. Silence is the enemy in a world of perpetual darkness. Silence gives her thoughts too much room to expand. Silence whispers strange things into her ears, ideas that in the hustle of the day she didn't have time to address, most of them concerning Xira…

She hugs her knees to her chest and bites down on her night shirt.

_They're on a beach, the sand hot beneath her feet. Xira walks beside her, their arms intertwined as best friend's arms often are._

"_Let's go sit in the surf!" says Xira, pulling Toph toward the water._

"_I don't know how to swim…" says Toph._

"_That's okay, then. We could just walk along the water and let the waves come over our feet." Xira leads her to the edge of the water, the growing sound of crashing waves and the sound of salt fills her nose._

_They walk arm in arm for a while, Toph listening to the ocean and to Xira's breathing and Xira enjoying the beautiful colors and brilliant scene before them._

"_OW!" Toph exclaims, pulling her foot up and falling to the ground._

"_What happened?" asked Xira._

"_I stepped on something!" says Toph, massaging the bottom of her foot. Xira reaches into the sand, finding the culprit. It is a seashell._

"_It's beautiful…" she says, placing it in Toph's hand gently. She takes the girl's other hand and slowly guides it over the grooves of the shell. "You see? It's got this sort of swirly at the top, and it's white with pink and khaki lines…" as she describes the shell, she guides Toph's fingers over each and every detail. "See?"_

"_Yes," says Toph, "yes, I see…"_


End file.
